Sportsmanship lost

Posted 10/20/15

To the Editor:

As a former high school football player in the mid ’60s, I was greatly disturbed to read of a recent score.

Imagine, Boston College beat Howard, 76-0; it’s obvious Howard …

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Sportsmanship lost

Posted

To the Editor:

As a former high school football player in the mid ’60s, I was greatly disturbed to read of a recent score.

Imagine, Boston College beat Howard, 76-0; it’s obvious Howard shouldn’t be on the schedule, especially when the Eagles had 62 points at the half and the game was shortened by 10 minutes.

My “Hall of Fame” coach at Pilgrim High School, Bob Miller taught us what real “sportsmanship” was. He always preached about respecting your opponent whether you win, lose or tie! Always play hard, fair and never ever embarrass your opponent.

Today’s “politically correct” sportsmanship rule is not just beat your opponent, but “beat them into the ground.” Dominate, pulverize, keep the first team in and roll the score up. Show “no mercy” as all that counts are the ratings, money and your dominance.

Coach Miller, thank you for what you taught me and the thousands of student athletes who you cam in contact with. I’ll always remember some 50 years later, the rules of true “sportsmanship” and not the scores!

Richard D. Walsh

East Greenwich

Comments

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  • JohnStark

    Mr. Walsh, I'm not sure you're capturing the concept of political correctness the way it is typically espoused, but let that go. No, Howard should never have been on BC's schedule. Perhaps it was the fat check written by BC that was the persuader. BC's first team did not play in the second half, during which time BC ran the ball exclusively. Virtually all players on BC's roster are on full scholarship, while virtually none from Howard were offered a scholarship from BC. Which embarrasses the opponent more: Third stringers and walk-ons scoring two second half rushing touchdowns, or players taking snaps and intentionally falling to the ground in order to preserve the precious self-esteem of opponents. Finally, it should be noted that winless Howard has been outscored 177-54 by it's NON-BC opponents this year, all of whom are either FCS or D2 schools. If blame is to be cast, it should be on the Howard administration for allowing this debacle in the first place.

    Tuesday, October 20, 2015 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    Nice guys finish last.

    Thursday, October 22, 2015 Report this